Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Boredom in the Classroom pp 1–10Cite as

The Academic Emotion of Boredom: The Elephant in the Classroom

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Psychology ((BRIEFSSCHOOL,volume 1))

Abstract

Boredom is so common that almost half of all high school students are bored in school every day. Boredom is a negative academic emotion that can affect students in multiple ways. Anxiety is the most studied negative emotion while boredom is a newer academic emotion drawing the attention of researchers and educators. Boredom has a function. It signals individuals to establish new goals and to explore alternatives. At the same time, boredom is related to a variety of mental and physical health problems including impulsivity, risk taking, drug and alcohol use, procrastination, aggression, and decreased academic achievement.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   69.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • Acee, T. W., Kim, H., Kim, H. J., Kim, J., Chu, H. R., Kim, M., … Riekenberg, J. J. (2010). Academic boredom in under- and over-challenging situations. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 35(1), 17–27. doi:10.1016/j.cedpsych.2009.08.002.

  • Ahmed, W., van der Werf, G., Kuyper, H., & Minnaert, A. (2013). Emotions, self-regulated learning, and achievement in mathematics: A growth curve analysis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 105(1), 150–161. doi:10.1037/a0030160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amsterlaw, J., Lagattuta, K. H., & Meltzoff, A. N. (2009). Young children’s reasoning about the effects of emotional and physiological states on academic performance. Child Development, 80(1), 115–133. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2008.01249.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Arsenio, W. F., & Loria, S. (2014). Coping with negative emotions: Connections with adolescents’ academic performance and stress. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 175(1), 76–90. doi:10.1080/00221325.2013.806293.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ashcraft, M. J. (2002). Math anxiety: Personal, educational, and cognitive consequences. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 11(5), 181–185. doi:10.1111/1467-8721.00196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barnett, L. A., & Klitzing, S. W. (2006). Boredom in free time: Relationships with personality, affect, and motivation for different gender, racial, and ethnic student groups. Leisure Science, 28, 223–244. doi:10.1080/01490400600598053.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Behnardo, B. I. (2013). Positive academic emotions moderate the relationship between self-regulation and academic achievement. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 83(2), 329–340. doi:10.1111/j.2044-8279.2012.02064.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bench, S. W., & Lench, H. C. (2013). On the function of boredom. Behavioral Science, 3(3), 459–472. doi:10.3390/bs3030459.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Daniels, L. M., Stupnisky, R. H., Pekrun, R., Haynes, T. L., Perry, R. P., & Newall, N. E. (2009). A longitudinal analysis of achievement goals: From affective antecedents to emotional effects and achievement outcomes. Journal of Educational Psychology, 101(4), 948–963. doi:10.1037/a0016096.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Daniels, L. M., & Tze, V. M. C. (2014). How do teachers want students to cope with boredom? ASCDExpress, 9(8). Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/ascd-express/vol9/908-daniels.aspx

  • Daschmann, E. C., Goetz, T., & Stupnisky, R. H. (2011). Testing the predictors of boredom at school: Development and validation of the precursors to boredom scales. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 81(Pt. 3), 421–440. doi:10.1348/000709910X526038.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dettmers, S., Trautwein, U., Lüdtke, O., Goetz, T., Frenzel, A. C., & Pekrun, R. (2011). Students’ emotions during homework in mathematics: Testing a theoretical model of antecedents and achievement outcomes. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 36(1), 25–35. doi:10.1016/j.cedpsych.2010.10.001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dettmers, S., Trautwein, U., Lüdtke, O., Kunter, M., & Baumert, J. (2010). Homework works if homework quality is high: Using multilevel modeling to predict the development of achievement in mathematics. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102(2), 467–482. doi:10.1037/a0018453.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diamond, A. (2005). Attention-deficit disorder (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder without hyperactivity): A neurobiologically and behaviorally distinct disorder from attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (with hyperactivity). Developmental Psychopathology, 17(3), 807–825. doi:10.1017/S0954579405050388.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eastwood, J. D., Cavaliere, C., Fahlman, S. A., & Eastwood, A. E. (2007). A desire for desires: Boredom and its relation to alexithymia. Personality and Individual Differences, 42(6), 1035–1045. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2006.08.027.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Efklides, A., & Volet, S. (2005). Emotional experiences during learning: Multiple, situated, and dynamic. Learning and Instruction, 15, 377–380. doi:10.1016/j.learniinstruc.2005.07.006.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fahlman, S. A. (2009). Development and validation of the Multidimensional State Boredom Scale (Doctoral dissertation, York University, Ottawa, Canada). Available from ProQuest Dissertations and Thesis. Retrieved from http://www.todmanpsychology.org/

  • Farb, N. A. S., Chapman, H. A., & Anderson, A. K. (2013). Emotion: Form follows function. Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 23(3), 393–398. doi:10.1016/j.conb.2013.01.015.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Faust, M. W., Ashcraft, M. H., & Fleck, D. E. (1996). Mathematics anxiety effects in simple and complex addition. Mathematical Cognition, 2, 25–62. doi:10.1080/135467996387534.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fawcett, L. M. (2007). School’s out: Adolescent’ leisure time activities, influences and consequences (Doctoral dissertation, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia). Retrieved from http://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/31

  • Fisher, C. D. (1998). Effects of external and internal interruptions on boredom at work. Two studies. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 19(5), 503–522. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1099-1379.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fisherl, C. D. (1993). Boredom at work: A neglected concept. Human Relations, 46(3), 395–417. doi:10.1177/001872679304600305.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forgas, J. P. (2013). Don’t worry, be sad! On the cognitive, motivations, and interpersonal benefits of negative mood. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 22(3), 225–232. doi:10.1177/0963721412474458.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology: The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. American Psychologist, 56(3), 218–226. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.56.3.218.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fritea, I., & Fritea, R. (2013). Can motivational regulation counteract the effects of boredom on academic achievement? Procedia—Social and Behavioral Sciences, 78, 135–139. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.04.266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goetz, T., Frenzel, A. C., Hall, N. C., Nett, U. E., Pekrun, R., & Lipnevich, A. A. (2014). Types of boredom: An experience sampling approach. Motivation and Emotion, 38(3), 401–419. doi:10.1007/s11031-013-9385-y.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goetz, T., Frenzel, A. C., Pekrun, R., Hall, N. C., & Lüdtke, O. (2007). Between- and within-domain relations of students’ academic emotions. Journal of Educational Psychology, 99(4), 715–733. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.99.4.715.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goetz, T., Nett, U. E., Martiny, S. E., Hall, N. C., Pekrun, R., Dettmers, S., & Trautwein, U. (2012). Students’ emotions during homework: Structures, self-concept antecedents, and achievement outcomes. Learning and Individual Differences, 22(2), 225–234. doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2011.04.006

  • Goetz, T., Pekrun, R., Hall, N., & Haag, L. (2006). Academic emotions from a social-cognitive perspective: Antecedents and domain specificity of students’ affect in the context of Latin instruction. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 76, 289–308. doi:10.1348/000709905X42860.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Goldberg, Y., & Danckert, J. (2013). Traumatic brain injury, boredom and depression. Behavioral Sciences, 3(3), 434–444. doi:10.3390/bs3030434.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Goldberg, Y. K., Eastwood, J. D., LaGuardia, J., & Danckert, J. (2011). Boredom: An emotional experience distinct from apathy, anhedonia, or depression. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 30(6), 647–666. doi:10.1521/jscp.2011.30.6.647.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gordon, A., Wilkinson, R., McGown, A., & Jovanoska, S. (1997). The psychometric properties of the boredom proneness scale: An examination of its validity. Psychological Studies, 42, 85–97. doi:10.2466/PMS. 71.7.963-966.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gumora, G., & Arsenio, W. F. (2002). Emotionality, emotion regulation, and school performance in middle school children. Journal of School Psychology, 40, 395–413. doi:10.1016/S0022-4405(02) 00108-5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Izard, C. E., & Ackerman, B. P. (2000). Motivational, organizational, and regulatory functions of discrete emotions. In M. Lewis & J. Haviland-Jones (Eds.), Handbook of emotions (2nd ed., pp. 253–322). New York, NY: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kass, S. J., Vodanovich, S. J., & Callender, A. (2001). State-trait boredom: Relationship to absenteeism, tenure, and job satisfaction. Journal of Business and Psychology, 16(2), 317–326. doi:10.1023/A:1011121503118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kass, S. J., Wallace, J. C., & Vodanovich, S. J. (2003). Boredom proneness and sleep disorders as predictors of adult attention deficit scores. Journal of Attention Disorders, 7, 83–91. doi:10.1177/108705470300700202.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Keltner, D., & Gross, J. J. (1999). Functional accounts of emotions. Cognition and Emotion, 13(5), 467–480. doi:10.1080/026999399379140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Larson, R. W., & Richards, M. H. (1991). Boredom in the middle school years: Blaming schools versus blaming students. American Journal of Education, 99(4), 418–433. doi:10.1086/443992.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • LePera, N. (2011). Relationships between boredom proneness, mindfulness, anxiety, depression, and substance use. The New School Psychology Bulletin, 8(2), 15–25. doi:10.24z66/PMS.71.7.963-966.

    Google Scholar 

  • Malkovsky, E., Merrifield, C., Goldberg, Y., & Danckert, J. (2012). Exploring the relationship between boredom and sustained attention. Experimental Brain Research, 221(1), 59–67. doi:10.1007/s00221-012-3147.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Maloney, E. A., Risko, E. F., Ansari, D., & Fugelsang, J. (2010). Mathematics anxiety affects counting but not subitizing during visual enumeration. Cognition, 114, 293–297. doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2009.09.013.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mazzone, L., Ducci, F., Scoto, M. C., Passaniti, E., D’Arrigo, V. G., & Vitiello, B. (2007). The role of anxiety symptoms in school performance in a community sample of children and adolescents. BMC Public Health, 7, 346. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-7-347.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKinney, A. A., Canu, W. H., & Schneider, H. G. (2013). Distinct ADHD symptom clusters differentially associated with personality traits. Journal of Attention Disorders, 17, 358–366. doi:10.1177/1087054711430842.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mega, C., Ronconi, L., & DeBeni, R. (2013). What makes a good student? How emotions, self-regulated learning and motivation contribute to academic achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 106(1), 121–131. doi:10.1037/a0033546.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mercer-Lynn, K. B., Flora, D. B., Fahlman, S. A., & Eastwood, J. D. (2011). The measurement of boredom: Differences between existing self-report scales. Assessment, 20(5), 585–596. doi:10.1177/1073191111408229.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Merrifield, C., & Danckert, J. (2014). Characterizing the psychophysiological signature of boredom. Experimental Brain Research, 232(2), 481–491. doi:10.1007/s00221-013-3755-2.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mora, R. (2011). School is so boring: High-stakes testing and boredom at an urban middle school. Perspectives on Urban Education, 9(1). Retrieved from http://www.urbanedjournal.org/

  • Nett, U. E., Goetz, T., & Daniels, L. M. (2010). What to do when feeling bored? Students’ strategies for coping with boredom. Learning and Individual Differences, 20(6), 626–638. doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2010.09.004.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nett, U. E., Goetz, T., & Hall, N. C. (2011). Coping with boredom in school: An experience sampling perspective. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 36, 49–59. doi:10.1016/j.cedpsych.2010.10.003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newell, S. E., Harries, P., & Ayers, S. (2012). Boredom proneness in a psychiatric inpatient population. International Journal of Social Psychology, 58(5), 488–495. doi:10.1177/0020764011408655.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Opris, D., & Macavei, B. (2005). The distinction between functional and dysfunctional negative emotions: An empirical analysis. Journal of Cognitive and Behavioral Psychotherapies, 5, 181–195. Retrieved from https://www.babcp.com/

  • Orcutt, J. D. (1984). Contrasting effects of two kinds of boredom on alcohol use. Journal of Drug Issues, 14(1), 161–173. doi:10.1037/a0032538.

    Google Scholar 

  • Owens, M., Stevenson, J., Hadwin, J. A., & Norgate, R. (2012). When does anxiety help or hinder cognitive test performance? The role of working memory capacity. British Journal of Psychology, 105(1), 92–101. doi:10.1111/bjop.12009.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pekrun, R. (2007). Emotions in students’ scholastic development. In R. P. Perry & J. C. Smart (Eds.), The scholarship of teaching and learning in higher education: An evidence-based perspective (pp. 553–610). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer. doi:10.1007/1-4020-5742-3_13.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Pekrun, R., Elliot, A. J., & Maier, M. A. (2009). Achievement goals and achievement emotions: Testing a model of their joint relations with academic performance. Journal of Educational Psychology, 101(1), 115–135. doi:10.1037/a0013383.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pekrun, R., Goetz, T., Daniels, L. M., Stupnisky, R. H., & Perry, R. P. (2010). Boredom in achievement settings: Exploring control–value antecedents and performance outcomes of a neglected emotion. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102(3), 531–549. doi:10.1037/a0019243.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pekrun, R., Goetz, T., Frenzel, A. C., Barchfeld, P., & Perry, R. P. (2011). Measuring emotions in students’ learning and performance: The Achievement Emotions Questionnaire (AEQ). Contemporary Educational Psychology, 36(1), 36–48. doi:10.1016/j.cedpsych.2010.10.002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pekrun, R., Goetz, T., Titz, W., & Perry, R. P. (2002). Academic emotions in students’ self-regulated learning and achievement: A program of qualitative and quantitative research. Educational Psychologist, 37(2), 91–105. doi:10.1207/S15326985EP3702_4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pekrun, R., & Stephens, E. J. (2009). Goals, emotions, and emotion regulation: Perspectives of the control-value theory. Human Development, 52, 357–365. doi:10.1159/000242349.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pfister, H., & Böhm, G. (2008). The multiplicity of emotions: A framework of emotional functions in decision making. Judgment and Decision Making, 3(1), 5–17. Retrieved from http://journal.sjdm.org/

  • Poon, D. C. H., & Leung, L. (2011). Effects of narcissism, leisure boredom, and gratifications sought on user-generated content among net-generation users. International Journal of Cyber Behavior, Psychology and Learning, 1(3), 1–14. doi:10.4018/ijcbpl.2011070101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Preckel, F., Götz, T., & Frenzel, A. (2010). Ability grouping of gifted students: Effect on academic self-concept and boredom. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 80(3), 451–472. doi:10.1348/000709909X480716.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Reschly, A. L., Huebner, E. S., Appleton, J. J., & Antaramian, S. (2008). Engagement as flourishing: The contribution of positive emotions and coping to adolescents’ engagement at school and with learning. Psychology in the Schools, 45(5), 419–431. doi:10.1002/pits.20306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sansone, C., & Thoman, D. B. (2005). Does what we feel affect what we learn? Some answers and new questions. Learning and Instruction, 15, 507–515. doi:10.1017/j.learninstruc.2005.07.015.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seo, M., Barrett, L. F., & Bartunek, J. M. (2004). The role of affective experience in work motivation. The Academy of Management Review, 29(3), 423–439. Retrieved from http://aom.org/amr/

  • Shaw, S. M., Caldwell, L. L., & Kleiber, D. A. (1996). Boredom, stress and social control in the daily activities of adolescents. Journal of Leisure Research, 28(4), 274–292. Retrieved from http://js.sagamorepub.com/

  • Shernoff, D. J. (2013). Optimal learning environments to promote student engagement. New York, NY: Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Suárez-Orozco, M. (2013, September 19). The elephant in the (class) room: Three ways to close the global education gap. U.S. News Opinion. Retrieved from http://www.usnews.com

  • Todman, M. (2003). Boredom and psychotic disorders: Cognitive and motivational issues. Psychiatry: Interpersonal and Biological Processes, 66(2), 146–167. doi:10.1521/psyc.66.2.146.20623.

    Google Scholar 

  • Torrente, F., Lischinsky, A., Torralva, T., Lopez, P., Roca, M., & Manes, F. (2011). Not always hyperactive? Elevated apathy scores in adolescents and adults with ADHD. Journal of Attention Disorders, 15, 545–556. doi:10.1177/1087054709359887.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Trautwein, U., Lüdtke, O., Kastens, C., & Köller, O. (2006). Effort on homework in grades 5–9: Development, motivational antecedents, and the association with effort on classwork. Child Development, 77(4), 1094–1111. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2006.00921.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tulis, M., & Fulmer, S. M. (2013). Students’ motivational and emotional experiences and their relationship to persistence during academic challenge in mathematics and reading. Learning and Individual Differences, 27, 35–46. doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2013.06.003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Um, E., Plass, J. L., Hayward, E. O., & Homer, B. D. (2012). Emotional design in multimedia learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 104(2), 485–498. doi:10.1037/a0026609.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Valiente, C., Swanson, J., & Eisenberg, J. (2012). Linking students’ emotions and academic achievement: When and why emotions matter. Child Development Perspectives, 6(2), 129–135. doi:10.1111/j.1750-8606.2011.00192.x.

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Villavicencio, F. T., & Bernardo, A. B. I. (2013). Positive academic emotions moderate the relationship between self-regulation and achievement. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 83, 329–340. doi:10.0000/j/2044-8278.2012.02064.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vodanovich, S. J., Kass, S. J., Andrasik, F., Gerber, W., Niederberger, U., & Breaux, C. (2011). Culture and gender differences in boredom proneness. North American Journal of Psychology, 13(2), 221. Retrieved from http://najp.us/

  • Watt, J. D., & Vodanovich, S. J. (1992). Relationship between boredom proneness and impulsivity. Psychological Reports, 70, 688–690. doi:10.2466/pr0.1992.70.3.688.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wegner, L., Flisher, A. J., Chikobvu, P., Lombard, C., & King, G. (2008). Leisure boredom and high school dropout in Cape Town, South Africa. Journal of Adolescence, 31(3), 421–431. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2007.09.004.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Weir, K. (2013, July/August). Never a dull moment: Things get interesting when psychologists take a closer look at boredom. Monitor on Psychology, 44(7), 54. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/monitor/2013/07-08/dull-moment

  • Wood, J. (2006). Effect of anxiety reduction on children’s school performance and social adjustment. Developmental Psychology, 42(2), 345–349. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.42.2.345. 345.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yan, D., & Guoliang, Y. (2007). The development and application of an academic emotions questionnaire (Abstract). Acta Psychologica Sinica, 39(5), 852–860. Retrieved from http://118.145.16.229:81/Jweb_xlxb/EN/Y2007/V39/105/852

  • Yazzie-Mintz, E. (2010, June). Charting the path from engagement to achievement: A report on the 2009 high school survey of student engagement. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Center for Evaluation and Education Policy (CEEP). Retrieved from http://hub.mspnet.org/index.cfm/20806

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Manchester, MA, USA

    Gayle L. Macklem

Authors
  1. Gayle L. Macklem
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Macklem, G.L. (2015). The Academic Emotion of Boredom: The Elephant in the Classroom . In: Boredom in the Classroom. SpringerBriefs in Psychology(), vol 1. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-13120-7_1

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation